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Published: August 15th 2006
Sunset
The amazing sunset I saw on the ferryThough this travel blog covers Tunisia out tale starts on a cold and stormy night in Salerno, Italy (well it wasn't cold and stormy, more bright, sunny and cheerful, but it adds to the effect doesn't it . . . right I'll stop now and get back to the story). When last we spoke our three intrepid explorers, Joel, Justin and myself, were happily travelling along the tourist path of Southern Italy. It was Monday the 31st of July and the day before we had found out that the ferry was not Sunday, it was today, this was but a minor hiccup in our tale, included only for factual accuracy. So today, Monday, we went down to the port to buy our tickets to Tunis, Tunisia. "I'm sorry, it's full" we were told by the lady at reception. After telling her we would stand if we had to and if needed shovel coal, the ferry was still full. It was still full even after we asked whether we could pay an
additional fee. So far we were off to a bad start in our quest to get to Tunisia. The only saving
Me
This is me feeling very sorry for myself. I am tired, dirty and sweaty. In the end I was alright though. grace was that the ferry was making a stop over in Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily and apparently there was space from there to Tunis. We had no choice; we had to get to Palermo. The chase was on.
We hurried back to the middle of town to the travel agency and the train station where we learnt that there were two trains, one in the middle of the night on which we could sleep and arrive in Palermo fresh and bright and ready to fight. Then there was the other train, a train that would necessitate us sleeping in a train station in Palermo over night before getting on the ferry. "I'm sorry, it’s full" said the man as we enquired about that wonderful and possibly mythical sleeper train, roughing it a train station was now definitely on the cards. The train ride itself was fine, time passed quickly; we played cards and read our books. It was also nicely broken up by the crossing over to Sicily where we could get out, stretch our legs and let the sea breeze caress our travel weary faces. So we arrived in Palermo at about 23.00 and settled
The Medina
This was the 'authentic' bit of the medina. I really like the contrast between light and dark in this photo. in for the night at the train station, taking turns watching our bags. It was a little uncomfortable and I didn't get much sleep but it was not the horror filled night I had imagined. According to Joel and Justin who have more experience of these things than I do it was quite a good train station, as far as train stations go.
We woke early the next morning and wandered down to the port to buy our tickets. We got some much needed breakfast and then went over to the ferry to buy our tickets, which is what Joel was told to do earlier when he had asked. "I'm sorry, it's full", WHAT!! After a few tense exchanges with the guy who seemed to be in charge we learnt we now had to go somewhere else to buy the tickets. So we hurriedly walked over and learnt that they were all sold out and we would have to put our names on a waiting list, we were numbers 17, 18 and 19. This was shit, if we had been told the right information at the beginning we could have bought the tickets an hour earlier and been on
White Walls
This part of the medina I stumbled across was painted completely white. the ferry, none of us were amused. We were told to wait around until they could figure out how many extra they could put onto the ferry. It was here that I met Giovanni, the hero of our tale, I was chatting to him in very broken English about the price of a
lady of the night in the various places around Europe, apparently Moldova if you're interested. Looking back this bode well for further adventures and you will not be disappointed as you will soon see. To be honest I did not hold out much hope of getting the tickets and was already making up
Plan B. Joel had found out that we could go to Trapani and get a ferry from there. A few hours later Joel and Justin, who were in line at the time, got the last ticket, the honest to god, last of its kind, last of the Mohicans ticket, literally. There was no more. It was the final ticket on the ferry. They had made the decision that I should have it as I had the least time ahead of me in Tunisia before I had to leave to England. I went along with
Mosque in the Medina
The tower from one of the numerous mosques in the Tunis medina this, so suddenly I was off on my own on a ferry with Giovanni, my travelling companions gone, with hundreds of other people who spoke no English, I was alone.
The ferry journey was terrible. I was by myself, I was scared of what lay ahead in Tunisia and I began to doubt myself and my ability to deal with the situation. The fear of the unknown is quite powerful. I felt pretty sorry for myself. The only good point of the journey was the magnificent sunset as you can see in the photos. Ten hours later we got to Tunis and I stuck close to Giovanni as he was the only person I knew. I had finally got to Tunisia. We went through customs and got a taxi (in which Giovanni spoke to the driver about wo-man and price, that’s all I picked up) to the middle of town and then got dropped off. We walked around for ages looking for the hotel Giovanni had stayed at before but couldn't find it. We eventually went back to the first one we had seen about a half hour previously (Giovanni asked their policy on bringing woman back to the
The Cathedral
To be honest I was amazed to see this massive cathedral in the middle of Tunis. Tunisia is after all Arabic. rooms, he meant prostitutes and it was forbidden). We checked in and then hit the town for a beer and to look for 'wo-man' as Giovanni pronounced it. Keep in mind that it was 1am on a Wednesday and only the dodgiest of the dodgy bars are still open at that time. We first went to a bar/restaurant for a beer, there was this Arab band playing which was pretty awesome and completely different to Western music, the drunken locals were having a blast, Giovanni was working his magic with the ladies but all to no avail unfortunately. Next we went to this incredibly dark, dingy, dodgy and possibly illegal club with about 20 people inside, one of which was a woman. Giovanni was not happy and we left a minute later to go back to the hotel. All in all it was a memorable few days and especially a crazy first night in Tunisia.
Tunis Giovanni left the next morning and I had the day to kill before Joel and Justin arrived that night. I spent the day walking through the medina, which is the old part of the city, it is amazing. The main streets have hundreds
The Arch
The arch at the main entrance to the medina of vendors selling everything, clothes, souvenirs, cheap plastic consumables, fish, meat, spices, legumes, vegetables, fruit and most other things you can think of. The streets were humming with people and it was noisy and chaotic. I loved it as it brought back memories of my childhood in South Africa and my holiday in Bali. In many ways it was very different to SA, the same madness that Africa possesses but with definite Arabic influences that gave it its own unique appeal. On the quieter back streets the small winding alleys were very distinctive and are more like your imagination tells you it should be, think Disney's Aladdin. I managed to get some good photos that I hope show you how it felt. It is impossible not to get lost in the medina, at one point I left a little square to try find the arch at the entrance and about 40 minutes later I wandered back into the exact same square from the exact same direction I had left it. I really liked the medina. I went to a few other places in Tunis, including this massive cathedral on the main road in Tunis, and a few other smaller ancient
Another Alley
This was taken in a slightly dirtier area of the medina places, all of which, inevitably were a ridiculously long way away and took me ages to walk there and back, especially after getting lost as I inevitably did. Note to Joel and Justin: I am lying for the sake of the story; I always knew exactly where we were, especially in the medina😊 Later checking my emails I learnt the Joel had been told the wrong info (surprise, surprise), so they were coming the next day instead, another day by myself.
Carthage I caught the train to Carthage the next morning and did a little walk down to the sea and then back up to the ruins of the Baths. I walked in the exit (by mistake) and thus saved myself 7 dinar, hehehe. It wasn't that great, it has been almost totally destroyed and by far the most interesting bit was a rebuilt column that was one of eight, I think, that held up the roof with a board showing the size of the column in relation to what the baths would have looked like. I hope the photo does it justice as the baths would have been astonishing in their time. After this I decided to trek
A hawk and his boy
Me with a hawk that this guy had in the medina up to the museum and the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre was interesting as they use it for concerts these days so there was a contrast between ancient place and modern sound equipment. The museum wasn't free so I didn't go in; I have heard that it was not very good anyway. I then trekked back down to the sea for a swim as I was drenched in sweat; it was amazing just lazing there in the water for an hour or so. To be honest Carthage is not that exciting, all the ruins are spread out over a large area situated amongst a modern day suburb, they are quite deteriorated anyway. It is worth going if you have the time but not worth making any special plans to see. Later I headed back to the train for the ride home and later that night I met Joel and Justin and we were once more an indestructible crime fighting trio😊
Sousse The next day the three of us explored the Tunis medina again and went into a house/museum to see how people lived back in the day, it was interesting and very different from all the Roman ruins I have been
Arabic House
The courtyard of the house we went to in the medina. seeing over the past few weeks. Later we went to Sousse, found a hotel and ran back to a bar that I spotted had a happy hour till midnight. We made it with 10 minutes to spare and quickly bought 2 rounds, just to be safe. It was time to relax after the craziness of the past week and we all had a good night. Sousse itself is famed for it beaches and the one we went to the next day was very nice, it had sand and not pebbles. I came to the conclusion that Sousse is the Bali of France and it was thus very touristy, which after a while gets very tiring when you are not after a holiday of that sort.
El Jem We then got the bus to El Jem to see the worlds third largest Colosseum. It is astonishing, much better preserved than the one in Rome, cleaner and generally more awe-inspiring. We spent a good hour just wandering around looking up at the arches that have so far survived the ravages of Father Time. You can climb right up to almost the very top which offers some brilliant views of the surrounding
Decorating the House
The intricate detail of the walls in the house. area and descend into the tunnels beneath the arena. Really amazing stuff. I hope the photos do it justice.
Sfax Later that day we got a taxi to Sfax and found a hotel. We went out to dinner and then smoked some sheesha with the locals. One group was young, loud and drunk and after a while they began to piss me off. Another guy spoke very good English but was constantly telling us how he hated Sfax and Tunisia in general. It was kind of odd. The next day we looked around the medina, which is meant to be the most authentic in Tunisia but looked exactly like the one in Tunis to me. I then had to leave to go back to Tunis for my flight to England so it was time to say goodbye to my travelling companions Joel and Justin, two very good friends.
Got the train to Tunis and wasted 5 hours doing not a lot, except watching a street carnival thing, then got a taxi to the airport and got on my flight. I definitely want to come back to this country when I have more time and can speak a little
French.
To read Joel's account of his time in Tunisia click
Freestyling in Tunisia To read Justin's account of the journey to Tunisia click
null blog 80760 and for his account of our time in Tunisia click
null blog 80782 Hope I haven't bored you with what became quite a long entry. Next time England.
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justin
non-member comment
Looks like you did the pay the ferry man before he got you to the other side
Yo dan, great blog! Summed up our times in Tunisia (and the ridiculous and unneccessary adventure it took us to get there) pretty well. Excellent photo of us; the food really brings out our eyes. Oh, and I must correct you that it is Justin and Joel, not Joel and Justin....